In reviews 21 July ’23

In reviews 21 July ’23

Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing. In reviews 21 July ’23 NZ Police in Auckland We may grumble about the police occasionally but huge kudos to...
When you can’t find real fault, pick on the haka

When you can’t find real fault, pick on the haka

Is there anything that raises the ire of certain Northern Hemisphere rugby critics and fans more than the All Blacks’ haka? Whenever the World Cup rolls around it’s always the same, tired, ignorant, and insensitive criticisms of a tradition of our game...
It’s boring winning all the time

It’s boring winning all the time

All Blacks fans are a tough crowd and it’s getting all a little tedious. Two games against Australia in the past two weeks saw two fantastic contests– one a comprehensive, record-breaking loss for the men in black, the other a complete turnaround where they played the...
Forging a new reputation

Forging a new reputation

A renowned writer once famously wrote that there’s no such thing as a second act in American lives – meaning that it’s not possible to change, to reinvent, to forge a new path. F Scott Fitzgerald’s epigram isn’t a truism and wasn’t...
How the game is played matters most of all

How the game is played matters most of all

  Every four years the most watched sport on the planet serves up a carnival that decides which nation’s team wins the FIFA World Cup. In just over four weeks, 32 teams get whittled down to one and along the way there is all the drama, beauty, desperation,...